This ruling overturns a prior decision by the General Court, which had granted the European Commission the power to scrutinize the Illumina-Grail deal despite it not meeting the necessary revenue thresholds. The General Court’s ruling had been seen as a potential expansion of the commission’s ability to investigate mergers and acquisitions, particularly in cases where the transactions could impact competition within the EU.
Illumina’s $8 billion acquisition Probe : Reaction from Stakeholders
Margrethe Vestager, the vice-president of the European Commission, expressed disappointment with the decision, noting that some transactions, even those below EU notification thresholds, could still harm competition within Europe. “We will consider the next steps to ensure that the commission is able to review those few cases where a deal would have an impact in Europe but does not otherwise meet the EU notification thresholds,” Vestager said.
Illumina, on the other hand, welcomed the ruling, stating that it confirms its “longstanding view that the European Commission exceeded its authority by asserting jurisdiction over this merger.” Grail did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Background and Implications
Illumina, a California-based DNA sequencing giant, announced its plan to reacquire Grail, a company it founded in 2016 and later spun off, for approximately $8 billion in September 2020. Despite completing the acquisition in August 2021, the deal has faced significant opposition from regulators on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as from activist investor Carl Icahn.
